Next-Generation iMacs Already in Production?

[bagelche]

I find the problem is more likely that a child or shorter adult would have to crane their neck upwards more likely than not. There's a general trend to putting monitor shelves up higher on desks resulting in incorrect ergonomics--people are now looking up at monitors when their eyes should be level with the top of the screen.

Continuing that thought: I find this is exacerbated by the trend to larger displays (which I like). The 24" iMac I use at work is on a monitor shelf on a cart-style workstation. The top half of the screen is above my eye level and due to the construction of the furniture there's no way to change that. I have to nearly get out of my chair to insert or remove a DVD (which I do a lot).

My first thought upon seeing this design (other than G3/4 era design features) was the DVD slot at the top of the machine! Even with the machine at the proper height you'd have to stand up to insert/remove a disc.

 

[hiimamac]

why thinner??? Againg. Brggg

we want higher end parts, quad core, i7, express slot, external esata, blue Ray not mote laptop thinner cooler parts. There is no mid range mac pro so we want more plugins faster rendering and thngnlike that. IMHO.

Peace.

AppleInsider claims that Apple has begun production of the next-generation iMac and may be set to introduce the revamped product line sometime between now and mid-October.The report echoes a report issued last week by research firm Wedge Partners that new iMacs could make an appearance within the next several weeks. Today's report also reiterates claims that the new iMac will sport a redesigned enclosure and several new features, possibly to include a Blu-ray drive option.

Article Link: Next-Generation iMacs Already in Production?

 

[xhambonex]

again, I'd like a HDMI input or two on the back.

Interesting...asking for actual video input support on an iMac that wasn't USB or FW based

i'd seriously doubt you'd see that option. I don't think many all-in one desktops have that feature but I'm sure someone will correct me. Either way you won't see an input unless it's MinuDisplay port. Their $900 monitor only supports MDP equipped computers, which is a joke, and a pretty good one. I'd love to see some support on their stand alone monitor for HDMI as a start.

Now HDMI output on an iMac isn't to much to ask for these days. I can't imagine I'm alone in wanting a video output that doesn't require an adapter. That's just stupid, I've gone through 3 of the DVI to VGA adapters on my MBP. I'm not sure how useful that would be to a lot of people but I'm sure not against having the option.

 

[lkrupp]

If they include a Blu-ray option on the new iMacs, I would like to have a Blu-ray option with burning for Mac Pros, as well, so that I can start backing up 50 GB of data to a single disc. It's sort of lame that this option is available on PCs but not on the Mac.

Anyone who would seriously consider using an expensive Blu-ray burner and an expensive Blu-ray blank disc to backup data when a small , portable hard drive with ten times the capacity can be pruchsed for less than $100 definitely has a screw loose. Every reputable article out there notes that Blu-ray adoption on PCs is sluggish. Blu-ray is dead. It's a technology whose time has already come and gone. It's the 3.5 inch floppy drive of the 21st century. It's only legitimate use is for playback but that too is on it's way out. Why do you think the players all have network ports on them now?

 

[danielwsmithee]

26", refined to 25.5" LED backlit display
...
20" replaced with 21.5"

As long as they increase the resolution while they are at it. There is nothing I hate worse then a large monitor with low pixel density. That is why I would never buy most of the 27" LCDs on the market. They all have the same resolution as a standard 23-24" display. Everything ends up all pixelated.

I would love a 27" display that has the same resolution as the current 30" display though. That would be sweet.

 

[ericinboston]

The earlier pie chart showed BD with a +91% growth rate. That's phenomenal.

Hey I don't hate BR...I own it...but 91% growth rate also needs to be put in comparison: If I sell 2 candy bars this year and 4 next year, I wouldn't tout that I had such a huge sales jump. Technically, by percentages, I "grew" but when I have 300 million people in America that can buy candy bars, I'm not doing so well. Again, that's an example. When that pie chart shows DVDs significantly less than 50% of all sales AND BR significantly more than 25% of all sales, I'll believe that BR is catching on.

Not relevant to anyone wanting to watch BD (it's "BD", not "BR") movies that they own. Citing the prices of BD-RE drives and media is pure FUD.

I'm not spreading FUD (Fear Uncertainty Doubt)...I'm just stating that there are numerous reasons to own the BR format...just like I have numerous reasons to own the DVD format (watch consumer movies, backup my computer data, create my own home movies, etc).

BD-RE blanks are currently around $3 for a 25-pack. Since I can remember spending $5 for a single CD-R blank, that's pretty good for this stage in the rollout.

That's either a typo or you're wrong...$3 for 25 discs?! No way...you mean more like $15 PER Blu-Ray blank...and/or $30+ for a 3-pack of 25GB Blu-Ray blanks. 50GB blanks are sky high...$55 for a SINGLE 50GB Blu-Ray blank. Wayyyyyy too expensive for my blood...and yes, I realize prices will drop but again, the BR format has been out for years and we're still at these high prices. You can't dispute the facts.

http://www.google.com/products?q=BD...a=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4

 

[Maserati7200]

Laser Disc, oh please oh please oh please!

Blu-ray should not be compared to laser disc.

How many people honestly will use Bluray? Barely anyone. The average person still doesn't know the difference between Bluray and DVD.

Oh, really? So why do people bother to get HD channels from their digital television provider? Cable vision offers 1080i broadcasts on some of the major channels and it's a worlds difference between HD and SD. And blu-ray is even better than what digital TV providers have to offer. Don't belittle the knowledge of consumers.

Actually, I've owned 2 iMac's (G3, G5) in addition to Power Macs (towers) and the iMac has NEVER been able to raise up and down. So, a child sitting at a desk can see the monitor fine, but an adult using the same computer must look down.

There is no reason why the monitor could not have a telescopic arm that re-positions the monitor up-and-down depending on the users preference.

That is my #1 complaint about iMac's.

As for sales. iMac's do better than mini's and towers since they have the right price point -- due to their components. Average users certainly do not need Xeon processors. However, mini's are a bit underpowered.

So, the happy medium has no choice is allowing one to retain their previous monitor. If you have a monitor you like, you get the choice of underpowered mini or spending $3,500 for a workstation level computer. No in-between.

Eco? Yes, new Mac's are better than the rest. No PVC's, etc. However, the term "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" means that if you have an old Cinema Display and want a new computer, you can not go with the happy middle ground as iMac's are bundled with the monitor.

My last iMac G5 has a great monitor, but its getting slow, has always been noisy, inserting a CD requires "special assistance" in loading, and while the monitor is still in perfect shape, the computer should be replaced. It would be nice to not have to get rid of 2 components when 1 is bad.

Gee, ever wonder what was in between the G3 and G5? The G4!! And guess what? The G4 could move up and down and swivel from side to side!

 

[ericinboston]

why thinner??? Againg. Brggg

we want higher end parts, quad core, i7, express slot, external esata, blue Ray not mote laptop thinner cooler parts. There is no mid range mac pro so we want more plugins faster rendering and thngnlike that. IMHO.

Exactly...I mean, really, it's a DESKTOP computer that will BE ON A DESK...in someone's HOUSE...going from 1inch thick to .75inch thick (or whatever) is pointless for a DESKTOP. Apple's trying to convince me that I can't fit the last 3 generations of an iMac in my room?! The masses have already switched from 14" thick CRT 50lb monsters to 2" thick 12pound LCDs since 2004. Time to move on, Apple, in this ever increasing shrinkage of a DESKTOP computer.

Gimme more CPU power and the ability to swap and add a hard drive on the iMac.

I really like the design of the iMac...just overpriced for the guts you get.

 

[danielwsmithee]

Actually, I've owned 2 iMac's (G3, G5) in addition to Power Macs (towers) and the iMac has NEVER been able to raise up and down.

The iMac G4 could.

 

[Mx34u]

why thinner??? Againg. Brggg

we want higher end parts, quad core, i7, express slot, external esata, blue Ray not mote laptop thinner cooler parts. There is no mid range mac pro so we want more plugins faster rendering and thngnlike that. IMHO.

Peace.

Hopefully it will teach you spelling.

 

[Ironduke]

Apple Have no Choice They are going to have to do something Big with the iMac or its going to look less and less a good purchase against PC technology.

They are either going to have to sell you pretty much the same at a big price reduction.

or They are going to have to Redesign the iMac with, Quad Core Goodness & more ram and Hardrive space n chit.

 

[bagelche]

Blu-ray should not be compared to laser disc.

Why not? Both are media touted for their ability to pack in higher quality video than the previous playback standard on lovely shiny circular thingees. Both faced a battle of adoption beyond initial early adopters. There's a reasonably direct line of development within optical disc formats from LD>DVD>BD. There's plenty of reasons why they could be compared. Having said that, the original comment was a) a joke and b) rather funny.

 

[thatdarnfish]

In case there is any question left as to if this is going to happen, I just checked Clubmac, Macmall, and onsale.com and it looks like they don't have anymore 2.93's in stock.

 

[OceanView]

The things I want to see in an iMac.

Quad Core i7.
At least 4 memory slots.
LED displays.
Same form factor as LED Cinema Display (even if it is 4" thick). I wan't to run dual displays side by side that match.

Yes I want this plus BluRay for $999 LOL!

 

[cvcc13]

My chat conversation with a sales rep on the Apple Store website :

 

[johnrs]

humm.. I dont think that they would tell you even if they knew. They are not daft to be fooled into giving away such info.

at the end of the day we are just going to have to wait and see what/if apple bring out some new iMac's...

 

[ElPinko]

A while ago I asked in my local apple store about Snow Leopards release and whether new macs would come with it and they told me "We're not even allowed to speculate" so im afraid your conversation is no use

 

[johnrs]

it would be more than his jobs worth to even hint that there might be a new iMac on the card. especially in a recorded web convo

 

[danielwsmithee]

If there is an update coming out there is probably ~100 people working at apple that actually know for sure about it. None of the retail employees or online apple store representatives would know.

 

[johnrs]

agreed. Apple are renowned for secrecy

 

[The Samurai]

My chat conversation with a sales rep on the Apple Store website :

Apple staff don't get told about new products beforehand. Just like everyone else, they are made aware of it as it is released.

 

[hiimamac]

i don't understand why apple just doesn't go HDMI all the way =\

Agreed. I bought a HP on a one day sale. $599 for $250. 24", 1920x1200 plays BR, HD like glass and had VGA and hdmi and have connected HD tv signal to it and it looks awesome. 24" plenty big enough when sitting at desk plus it rotates and goes up and down. Again, I think apple doesn't do this to keep people locked into apple tv. Why release hdmi so a user can dvr, HD his/her shows when they can get $1.99-$2.99 per episode of lost abc, yet ABC stream HD all five seasons free. In fact just watched last nights ABC FF which had lost references in it as HD from ABC.

apple needs to get with the times let alone quad core, better gou, raid esata.

 

[fpnc]

Well see I'd believe that but the LCDs in monitors aren't exactly expensive these days. And we are getting panels in monitors for less money like those Dell E-ISP? (not sure if that's right) monitors. I don't see the market converging...I thought there were different panels for tvs and monitors anyway. Not to mention the panels are built in different resolutions optimized for viewing distances and reading text and what not, stuff you wouldn't do with a tv necessarily.

I don't know... What you said was the only real thing I could think of nut I don't even see that making sense. I'll keep my 1080p 24" monitor, something you won't find often or cheap in the tv market.

I didn't mean to suggest that Apple would use an unmodified HDTV panel for a computer display. It's just that if you are already setup to manufacture 16:9 displays then there is probably some cost benefit in using that aspect for both TVs and computer displays. Let's face it, one or two dollars in component costs can mean millions of additional profit for high-volume products like the MacBook or even the iMac. The only question then becomes will the customer really object (or dislike) that change and could it really prevent them from buying your product.

IMO, going to 16:9 would be a notable step down (please, please keep near to or at 16:10, we don't need anything "wider"). Of course, if Apple does switch to 16:9 then I can just see the marketing spin, "New and spectacularly wide display for HD content!"

 

[MrBean]

Prices are also in that Thread:

Base 21.5" Model – $2099.00
Base 25.5" Model – $2599.00
High End 25.5" Model – $3099

We shall see -_-

Tod

Laughable. There is no way they are kicking up the price to $1800.00 on the base model.

They want to increase sales, not lower em.

 

[AAPLaday]

The new iMac better be more powerful than the Dell Studio laptop. It has an option for i7 720QM with a Radeon 4570